Aftermaths
by Ubekhet
Summary: A young Gungan, a handmaiden and soldier in training meet the Jedi who still remain after the battle of Naboo.But if the danger has passed, why do the Jedi still remain?
1. Default Chapter

Aftermaths.  
  
Are you sure we should be doing this? If Captain Panaka were to find us....  
whispered Galak. Dane shot him a warning glance.  
Shh! Quiet, or they'll here us. She hissed back.  
  
The young Gungan beside them shifted, finding it hard to hide his taller frame behind the small, white flowered hedge. But you is supposed to be at work, no? he asked uneasily. How many times do I have to say, Toba? It's you _are, _not you _is_. said Galak.  
  
Well, are I right, you are supposed to be at work now? the Gungans voice was getting shriller,and louder now. Why do I bother? muttered Galak, as Dane tried to placate Toba. Cos you is a finicky, perfectionist, bossy scalefish'? said Toba innocently. Galak elbowed him in the ribs. Ouch! Mesa only saying what Dane always say!squealed the gungan. Dane laughed nervously and turned away to watch the Jedi once more.  
  
Oh! They're gone! she exclaimed. They turned around and set their backs against the wall opposite. Why you think they still here? asked Toba, stretching out his long legs. I don't know. Governor Bibble says that we are safe now the Trade Federation has gone, but then why are the Jedi still here, if there is no trouble? Galak looked troubled.  
  
Maybe they are uneasy to go,after their Master was slain. Or maybe their council ordered them to stay,I don't know. Maybe there is some trouble still on Naboo, some adventures still to have ! said Dane.  
  
I seriously doubt it. Besides, if we ever did get caught up in such adventures, I don't suppose we would last a minute. Galak told her.   
Don't be so pessimistic! Dane turned to Toba, And we'll fly off in a starship to Coruscant, and the Jedi will say that we are strong in the force,and we'll become Jedi, like them, and be heroes!  
  
Maybe because of his sensitive Gungan hearing, Toba was the first one to notice the figures stepping out of the bushes behind them. The others, after realising that Toba had turned and frozen in his tracks, turned slowly around too, fearful of what they might find there - maybe captain Panaka.  
  
Galak was the first one to speak , Um....we're sorry sir.... for...well....we should be going now.... He meant to move away. but his legs would not move, they were frozen with fear and awe.  
  
In front of the three friends stood the adult Jedi, and his young Padawan.  
You were watching us? the Jedi, Obi-Wan Kenobi asked with a hint of amusement in his voice. Toba fidgeted, Dane blushed, while Galak seemed to be frozen with shock.   
  
The straight faced Padawan suddenly broke into a grin. His master smiled down at them, Please, don't be afraid. Curiosity is not a sin. He leaned down closer to the children. Just make sure that it doesn't get you into trouble.  
He smiled again and walked away. His apprentice lingered a moment, and then sprinted off after him.  
  
asked Anakin.  
Yes, Anakin? Obi-wan turned to the young boy. Anakin didn't need to voice what he was thinking. Of course you may.


	2. Aftermaths -2 - So close

* Characters are not made up! Dane, Galak and Toba are from the Invasion of Theed' rpg game, and most all other characters are from the Star Wars trilogies! There may be some original characters later, it depends. I'd just like to say that I have a very rough idea what is going to happen in this fic, but am basically making it up as I go along!*  
  
Aftermath -2 - So close.  
  
Wanna play? the younger boy asked.  
  
Galak, Toba and Dane froze in their tracks. Spinning around, they saw the young Jedi, Anakin behind them. Dane and Galak exchanged glances.   
  
Anakin was small for his eleven years, but there was something very , _large _ about him. His presence was often intimidating to say the least.  
  
Galak smiled his wide Gungan smile at the Jedi. I will play. he said, forming the words carefully, obviously making the effort to speak proper Basic, Galak observed.  
  
Anakin said.  
We can't play. said Dane. Im sorry, but Galak and I should be back at school.  
  
Anakin looked slightly crestfallen. That's ok, maybe another time.  
Galak frowned as Toba and Anakin walked off together. He kept watching them as they disappeared behind a large tree hanging ripe with fruit.  
  
That boy gives me the creeps. said Galak.  
Don't be silly...race you back to the school! Dane yelled as she darted off, leaving Galak behind, sighing insufferably.  
  
.....  
  
It was getting late, but Obi-Wan was not worried about his Padawan. He would let him play with the youngsters. He knew well enough that Anakin had not been in the presence of children his own age since Tatooine - even though the children they had met in the gardens were at least three years older than the young padawan.   
  
Besides, Naboo was a very safe planet, or at least, had been until recently.  
  
Obi-wan sighed and dropped down onto his bed. The marble room that he had been staying in for some months now was elaborate and wealthy.  
For all it's splendour, the room was not to Obi-wan's taste.   
  
He could recognise the beauty in the palace, but it was not a place for Jedi's. He found himself missing his spartan quarters at the temple on Coruscant. He didn't feel comfortable here.  
  
He sighed in frustration. Yoda refused to tell him why Obi-wan and Anakin could not leave Naboo. It seemed safe - the Trade Federation was gone, and so were the Siths, to Obi-wan's knowledge. So why were they still here?  
  
Unless the patterned warrior that he had fought could somehow put himself back together and manage to crawl back up the shaft, Obi-wan thought in amusement, which he quickly quashed. He would take no pride or joy in the taking of life.  
  
But he couldn't ignore the satisfaction that had coursed through him when he had killed the man. He knew, he had come so close to the dark side then. With Qui-Gon, dying beside him.  
  
A feeling Obi-wan had not felt since that very day ripped through him -fear. He curled up in a ball on the bed, hugging his knees to his chest as another vision took him.  
  
The flashbacks had come to him since his master had died, and with he force, and the Jedi's enhanced memory, everything was just as clear as it had been, that day.  
  
The smile on his face. The _smile_.   
Qui-gon laying dying, and the Sith had _smiled _.  
  
And he was helpless, as he had been then.  
Obi-wan shuddered uncontrollably, feeling like a child again.


	3. Trying

*this is a very short chapter, with not much action, but bear with me, there will be some cool stuff later, I promise. Sorry if there are spelling mistakes and whatnot - Im tired of my spell check trying to turn Yoda' inot Yoga'!  
Thanks to my three reviewers - you are all fantabulous and gorgeous people!! I'd just like to warn you all, before we go any further, that this is turning out to be an Obi-wan i-miss-my-master-and-I'm-not-getting-on-too-well-withAnakin' kinda story, so be prepared for lots of angst and emotionally tortured Obi!   
*sees her only three readers running away towards the horizon*  
No! come back! It's just that I'd really would like to see how our favourite Jedi copes with the loss of the man that was the closest thing to a father for him. So anyway....*  
  
Aftermaths -3.  
  
Dane lay on her bed and thought.  
She thought about how devastated the whole of Naboo seemed to be when the older Jedi, Qui-Gon Jinn had died, and she tried *not* to think about how awful it must have been for Obi-wan and the young boy, Anakin. How must it feel to lose someone that close to you?  
  
But then her thoughts strayed to her own life. Being a handmaiden was a great privilege. But she was only a Standard Handmaiden in training. To be one of the Elite, one of Queen Amidala's personal companions - it was what every young girl on Naboo dreamed of. Of course, it was very selective, being that there were only five positions.  
Still, it was a wonderful thing to be chosen as a Standard, there were only twenty of them after all.  
  
Dane sighed. Why could she never seem to be happy with what she had been given? First she had yearned to be a Jedi, as every child in the galaxy probably did, but that was impossible because she wasn't (to her knowledge) force-strong. And now, all she could think about was being one of the Elite.  
  
Mind you, in between studies at Theeds Royal House of Learning, practice patrol around the palace grounds, and training with the security force, and sometimes, if they were un-lucky enough, Captain Panaka, there didn't seem to be much time for anything, not even yearning for the life of an Elite.  
  
Dane changed out of the maroon robes of the Standards and into her night-dress. Settling into bed, her room mate already snoring gently in the bed beside hers, Dane drifted into a deep and exhausted sleep.  
  
.......  
  
Toba and Anakin explored the gardens until the sun dipped low over the domes and spires of the Theed sky-line. The last dying rays glittered off the beautiful statues and numerous waterfalls, making the city like some many-coloured opal.  
  
In Toba's opinion, Galak and Dane thought themselves too mature and important to play and have fun. And unlike them, Toba was not at all uncomfortable with the young Jedi. Maybe it came from being part of a race that did not like to mix with outsiders at all  
coupled with his slightly rebellious nature, but Toba eagerly sought to make new friends and meet new people.  
  
But, just as Anakin had been showing the older Gungan a wizard' place, that no one else knew about, and was cross-your-heart-and-hope-to-die secret, a strange look had come across the boys face. He shuddered slightly, and, although he turned away in an attempt to hide it, Toba could see what looked like tears in Anakin's eyes.  
  
You okay? asked Toba, his voice full of concern.  
Anakin was silent for a moment. he replied after a while. But I think I should go back now. My master......  
  
Toba knew when to leave something be.  
he said brightly, You show me this place some other day, kay? I should be gettin back too, long way to the nearest Gungan village.  
You don't go to the school like Galak and Dane? Anakin asked.  
No. They no lettin Gungans in their school. Yet. he added darkly.  
  
They parted, saying good night, and promising to meet again soon.  
Anakin ran all the way back to the rooms he and Obi-wan were staying in. He didn't even need to think about the way, although the palace was vast and easy to get lost in.  
His master's mind was like a beacon.  
  
When Anakin came crashing thought the door, very un-dignified for a Jedi, he saw Obi-wan sitting on the bed, looking quite composed and serene. He gave Anakin a bright but rather wan smile, and Anakin felt slightly embarrassed for some reason.  
  
Anakin knew what Obi-wan had been thinking about, only minutes before, and Obi-wan *knew* that Anakin knew. This only made Anakin all the more embarrassed.  
  
In the gardens with Toba, Anakin had felt the grief rip through his Master, and so, through some invisible bond between Master and Padawan, that although seemed weak sometimes, was there all the same, he felt it too.  
  
When Qui-Gon had died, Anakin had been up in a Naboo Starfighter, in a great space battle.  
Anakin fancied the very moment that Qui-Gon died, the very moment he had become, one with the force, he had felt it, like a tide breaking over him, even though they were miles apart.  
  
He suddenly felt like a small boy again, emotions broiling inside him, so confusing....  
Obi-wan had as good as called out for him. Anakin felt as though, as terrible as the death was, it might bring him and his master together. But it didn't seem to be  
  
Anakin felt very alone. Padme was busy with her duties.  
He missed his mother. He missed Tatooine, missed the heat that he had cursed often enough back home, but most of all, missed his mother. All of a sudden he was a Jedi, and was expected to act like one.   
  
But how can I ? he thought, Im only eleven. Yoda and Obi-wan want me to act like and adult, like a Jedi, they want me to be un-afraid, but how can I be? I'm only a child!  
  
Anakin realised that Obi-wan was watching him, and at the same time, realised that hot tears were spilling down his cheeks. Obi-wan walked over to him, and embraced him as warmly as he could.  
  
........  
  
In the deepest part of the Gungan swamps, in a forest of thick mangroves that even the Gungans dared not enter, something was happening.........


End file.
